Autistic Burnout?

So, I am currently in bed feeling so worn out I could cry. Sadly, I have been here many times before and I’m sure will be here again in the future. I’m not sure whether I have burnout, having come across it on several internet posts recently.

I went on holiday about five weeks ago which was nice but stressful due to the change of routine etc. Then, after a week back at work, I had to go on a school residential for a whole week. The week was quite difficult and extremely tiring being in charge of children 24/7 so, naturally, I started with a cold and sore throat. This progressed onto sinusitis and I’m just recovering from it now.

I’m not sure if it’s a combination of all these different stressors but I have started to find things that were fine before to now be incredibly difficult. I feel really overwhelmed by the slightest of situations, am finding that I am more sensitive to noise levels and feel generally tearful and delicate. I am finding it even harder than usual to make decisions and have to try really hard to stop myself from ‘zoning out’ when things become too much. I can barely hold myself together during the day and when I get in my car to drive home, I keep crying.

Like I said, I’m not sure if this is autistic burnout or something else. I have been through two periods similar to this before and ended up taking time off work. Both occasions were before I received my diagnosis. Unfortunately, I really don’t feel that taking any time off work is an option at the minute but I am also worried about things becoming progressively worse unless I do something about it.

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Author: Autistic Teacher World

Being recently diagnosed with autism as an adult has meant re-evaluating everything about my life: recognising that my view of the world may be different to that of many others; identifying emotional triggers in order to learn to respond in a more helpful way; accepting that this is just part of who I am and that it is ok to be me.
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